PUBLIC FORUM.

Real absentee voting 

In an age where a message travels completely around the world before I finished typing the first word in this letter, you might expect the city clerk to notify its election division of the death of a voter who passed on before Christmas. But that's not the real concern I have.

Applications for absentee ballots arrived for both my deceased wife and me two weeks ago. I promptly sent them back with mine carefully completed (lest I be disqualified over some error voters are warned about) and wrote ``deceased'' and the date of her death on my wife's application. Three days ago I received two ballots, one for me and one for my wife. I have a problem: She left no forwarding address.

- Herman Koster

West Hills

Police shootings

Re ``Outrage spurs step to limit shootings'' (Feb. 9):

I have, I believe, the solution to shooting by the police at stolen autos. Since many of cars are merely taken by joy riding children and the police overreact to the slightest show of aggression by an alleged thief, why not rescind the law and inform the police that they are not to concern themselves with the theft of a car, speeding on the streets and they are to remember, ``innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.''

Let the arresting be taken care of by the police chief, City Council, county supervisors or the mayor himself. They are much wiser, and if a criminal shoots one of the wise ones, small loss.

- Ernest F. Fintor

Northridge

Reaction to shooting

Obviously the police are not going to be able to determine the age of a suspect while chasing him down. And now the mayor wants to knuckle under and change the Los Angeles Police Department shooting policy because it is an election year. Give me a break.

The real problem that needs to be addressed is that our apathetic society is turning out grade-school-aged gangsters who cannot be asked to take responsibility for their own actions and the so-called parents who let these kids run wild. Outraged? You bet.

- Scott J. Halliburton

Valley Glen

Has anything changed?

Re ``Panels may get say on streets'' (Feb. 8):

When our illustrious mayor was fighting to defeat the Valley's attempt to secede from Los Angeles, he admitted that this made him aware, as if he didn't know otherwise, that the San Fernando Valley was being neglected. He then promised to do everything he can to change that. Has anything changed?

Now that his job is on the line because of all the corruption that he has been involved in, he suddenly developed an interest in the Valley again. He is promising that if he is re-elected, he will give the Valley's advisory neighborhood councils a say in spending about 15 percent of the city's $51 million street repair budget. What a crock.

- Sol Swidler

West Hills

Bush's budget proposal

Re ``Cuts to hit L.A. hard'' (Feb. 8):

Wow! The rich get the tax cuts. The poor get the budget cuts.Yup, that sounds about right. What's next - Social Security ... oh wait, never mind.

- David Navarro

Encino

Pension take-backs

Re ``Double-dipping'' (Your Opinions, Feb. 8):

After contributing to Social Security for 40 years, I heeded the call to bring my ``life experience'' to the classroom and help alleviate the teacher shortage. I did so, becoming a substitute teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District. Nobody mentioned the Social Security offset/windfall provisions when I signed on.

Now, as I approach age 60, I am told that because I have been successful as a public school teacher (vested in State Teachers Retirement System) I will have my Social Security retirement benefit reduced by a large percentage. I'm not some high-ranking bureaucrat seeking a huge lifetime pension. I may get $600 per month from STRS. All I want is what I am entitled to based on the contributions I paid in during those 40 years. What is bad about that?

- Prentiss Moore

Sherman Oaks

Doesn't work that way

Re ``Cry me a river'' (Your Opinions, Feb. 8):

The comment by Jim Rowe shows that he has never worked in the switching yards or a control tower. A train is turned around on what is called a ``Y,'' which takes three not two switches, would take more than 1,000 feet of track for a Metrolink train, and would also take at least 10 acres or maybe 15 acres of expensive property.

Such a ``Y'' turn-around at the Lockheed Air Terminal for example would also block either Empire or Vanowen avenues, which are two very busy streets. There is nothing new or unusual about engines pushing rail cars. Pushing rail cars has been done for years in the switching yards and on spur lines. A turntable, like those used in a roundhouse, would turn around the engine only, but would not be useful for turning around the entire train.

- Raiford L. Langford

Sherman Oaks

Belmont truth

Re ``Belmont's cheap fix'' (Editorial, Feb. 8):

The Los Angeles Unified School District will likely never be able to keep up the maintenance on the toxic and deadly gas ventilation systems at the Belmont Learning Center site because they can't even keep restrooms in order in regular schools. The truth is there is no good way to save Belmont as a school.

If LAUSD wants to make money on this property, it should use it for teaching ``environmental compliance'' to students learning construction at our local universities, using professors to guide tours of the campus. This could save lives on future projects that have similar problems throughout the country. LAUSD needs to think outside of the box.

- Michael C. Hines

West Hills

Destroying pension

Re ``Pension war's first casualty will be truth'' (Their Opinions, Feb. 4):

Spin-meisters Jon Coupal and Richard Rider condescendingly explain why they, the governor and other ``free market globalists'' seek to destroy the nation's most reputable and ethical public pension plans - California Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System.

As a reward for making waves in the corporate world and demanding accountability of the global giants such as Enron, World-Com Tyco, et al, these same ``anything goes free marketeers,'' who are pushing for privatization of Social Security, would like to effectively destroy the nation's most respected public pension plans. Wow, is this a coincidence?

Hardly. Howard Jarvis must really be spinning in his grave.

- Charles O'Connell

Stevenson Ranch

Who really pays?

Re ``Hidden withdrawal'' (Your Opinions, Feb. 8):

The government-induced idea of ``employer contributions'' to Social Security is anything but. The employer contributes nothing, they simply take 6.45 percent out of your gross check, never give you the other 6.45 percent and send 13.9 percent to the feds on your behalf. But it is the employees' money, all 13.9 percent and employees have had this idea that they are sticking it to the employer. Sorry suckers, the government is sticking it to the employees.

I assume Alex Sheppard likes high corporate income tax, too, which is then directly passed on in the costs of the goods he buys. You need to follow the money, but you need to do so all the way, and it is you, Mr. Sheppard, who is paying all the tax.

- John K Taylor

Woodland Hills